I'm currently in Year 13 and I've applied to go to university next academic year. I got AAAB for my AS Level in the summer. I have applied through UCAS and got 4 conditional offers. Now, I'm stuck with my choices. Mind if you could possibly help me? Please?

My dilemmas are:

FOR FIRM CHOICE:
- Southampton University for Accounting and Economics (AAA)
OR
- Surrey University for Economics and Finance (with a year in industry) (AAA)

FOR INSURANCE:
- Kent University for Economics (with a year in industry) (AAB)
OR
- Queen Mary University of London for Economics, Finance and Management (AAB)

So now, I don't know which ones to choose as my firm and my insurance. I need advice about the social life and also the academic life in these institutions because I want to go somewhere where I can enjoy myself and also be employable when I graduate. Somebody please help! Please and thank you in advance! ^__^

I'm currently in Year 13 and I've applied to go to university next academic year. I got AAAB for my AS Level in the summer. I have applied through UCAS and got 4 conditional offers. Now, I'm stuck with my choices. Mind if you could possibly help me? Please?

My dilemmas are:

FOR FIRM CHOICE:
- Southampton University for Accounting and Economics (AAA)
OR
- Surrey University for Economics and Finance (with a year in industry) (AAA)

FOR INSURANCE:
- Kent University for Economics (with a year in industry) (AAB)
OR
- Queen Mary University of London for Economics, Finance and Management (AAB)

So now, I don't know which ones to choose as my firm and my insurance. I need advice about the social life and also the academic life in these institutions because I want to go somewhere where I can enjoy myself and also be employable when I graduate. Somebody please help! Please and thank you in advance! ^__^

A year in industry that Surrey offers will be really beneficial - employers really will value the experience that you've gained. I'd make that your firm, but I'd also visit and make sure you like the uni itself.

(Original post by mafranc)
Hey guys!
I'm currently in Year 13 and I've applied to go to university next academic year. I got AAAB for my AS Level in the summer. I have applied through UCAS and got 4 conditional offers. Now, I'm stuck with my choices. Mind if you could possibly help me? Please?

My dilemmas are:

FOR FIRM CHOICE:
- Southampton University for Accounting and Economics (AAA)
OR
- Surrey University for Economics and Finance (with a year in industry) (AAA)

FOR INSURANCE:
- Kent University for Economics (with a year in industry) (AAB)
OR
- Queen Mary University of London for Economics, Finance and Management (AAB)

So now, I don't know which ones to choose as my firm and my insurance. I need advice about the social life and also the academic life in these institutions because I want to go somewhere where I can enjoy myself and also be employable when I graduate. Somebody please help! Please and thank you in advance! ^__^

For both I think it is really clear that the decision should be about your course and the environment, rather than the institution, for both your firm and insurance they are both good choices. Though one big difference I guess is that in both choices you are considering between a city based university and a campus based one (though I believe Kent is a little spaced out but I am not 100% sure how it works) and the years in industry.

Also visit Southampton before even considering between your firms, you might really like it there, you might not, I spent a week in Southampton (Aimhigher) and it didn't feel like somewhere I would go, although I loved my week there, went to two open days at Surrey, really liked it so I went there... you could have the complete opposite experience.

There is more of a divergence between the courses of your firms, so that would be important as well. Choosing one over the other would not be detrimental to you. Then think about the year in industry, for some it is important in their decision (e.g. opening a door, getting experience, break within study as an employee etc) for others, like me, I did not care for it and have not done it. The Southampton will obviously include a good proportion of accountancy with less Economics. The Surrey course has a common first year with all versions of economics degrees and then you have a separate second year with introductory finance and some accounting as well as further mathematics.

From what I can see (from basically a 30 second browse of it) Surrey offers a degree with specific financial modules on financial markets. Southampton offers more management and business orientated modules.

The courses are really, really, different I think it would be best to examine what you want to do in your degree and what you want to cover and learn, if you would like to become an accountant then without a doubt Southampton, it will exempt you from some (or all?) examinations required. I think the big question here is what course you want to do rather than the university.

(I rambled a hell of a lot but I think it gets my point across, if you have any questions about Surrey feel free to ask or about the course as I knew all the lecturers and had a hand in the course structure whilst I was there so I know it pretty throughly...)

Yes, thank you for that! I think I'm more inclined on making Surrey my firm choice. I know that alot of people have already asked and I'm really anxious, but is the jump from A level quite big in comparison to university level? ..and what do most Economics graduates end up doing after they've finished their degree? Sorry, I clearly need guidance from people who had first hand experience with these sort of stuff! xD

First question, why have you chosen Accounting and Economics at Southampton as opposed to their Economics and Finance course?

I think firstly you need to decide on which programme you'd rather do. They are both going to be very different, with one having a strong focus on accounting and management, and the other on finance. In fact, I'd argue Southampton's course is more Accounting and Management with Economics as opposed to being Accounting and Economics since only a quarter of your modules are taught within the Economics Division.

If you have taken A-Level Maths, then at Southampton you can switch after first year (or during first year) to the Economics and Finance programme. This is a rather good programme and I've a lot of friends doing it. Their only complaint, however, is how mathematical it is.

If in your position, based on the programmes alone, I'd opt for Surrey as firm and then I'd be undecided on the insurance choice.

Also, as a note, don't be so hung up on the whole industrial placement thing. A lot of universities are advertising these and pushing them as the panacea given our current economic climate. They're not. You'll do equally well in the job market if you get an internship each summer while at university and also try for during the Easter holidays too. This will put you in as good a position as someone who only has a one year long placement.

At first, I wanted to be an accountant, but I've realised that I want go focus more on the Economics side as it'll be more general than accountancy. I thought that I'd have the disadvantage of not having studied business studies at A Level if I was to do Accountancy with Economics, and I haven't really had any encounters with the subject so I may not like it in uni. (I know, sounds stupid). However, I shall have a closer look on each course and see which one appeals to me the most.

(Original post by mafranc)
At first, I wanted to be an accountant, but I've realised that I want go focus more on the Economics side as it'll be more general than accountancy. I thought that I'd have the disadvantage of not having studied business studies at A Level if I was to do Accountancy with Economics, and I haven't really had any encounters with the subject so I may not like it in uni. (I know, sounds stupid). However, I shall have a closer look on each course and see which one appeals to me the most.

Well, do you have A-Level Maths?

If you chose Southampton as firm, and do indeed have A-Level Maths at grade B or above, then you can switch to Economics and Finance after the first year, or even switch to straight Economics.

There's a lot of flexibility within the Economics Division at Southampton providing you have the right pre-requisites.

What I would say, however, is that the Economics and Finance programme at Southampton is very mathematical. More so than Surrey's programme. I'm not sure how much you'd like or dislike this.

(Original post by mafranc)
Yes, I do Maths at A Level. Wow, that made my decision even harder to make. :/ Thanks for that info btw.

Hah no worries.

Surrey is also pretty flexible, so you could even consider your firm choice as being between either Economics or Economics and Finance at Surrey or Economics or Economics and Finance or Accounting and Economics at Southampton. Even more of a conundrum.

Just as an aside, however, I'd probably choose QMUL for your insurance. It gets a lot of stick for being in a poor area of London, but it's actually a good university and deserves more notice than it gets. It also has a very strong Economics department and surprised everyone in the latest RAE rankings.

Basically from what ACS has said is that either way at Surrey or Southampton, you can change what degree you are doing to Economics and Finance, so this comes back to the all important, visit Southampton! Then you can make your decision, you may also want to look at any subtle differences in the course structure that may suit what you want, I did this by creating an Excel spreadsheet but there are other ways...

As for the change from A-Level to degree level, it starts off pretty similar, then it will start to sway towards being more mathematical and having a more graphs, as time progresses. It isn't anything to worry about in terms of it being a step up from A-Level. For graduate destinations there is a lot of stuff on the forum about this so have a browse and you will find a lot.